…One is silver, and the other gold.

SOURCE.

If there were ever a nugget of wisdom I want to impart on my girls, it is this: good friends are a great treasure.

And, let me be clear. I’m not talking about facebook friends. I’m not talking about friends who place pressure on you to be someone or something you aren’t. I’m not talking about friends who keep score.

I’m specifically speaking to authentic, love-you-as-are girlfriends.

Make it a point to find them. You may meet when you’re three or when you’re thirty. Age is inconsequential.

Because, I’ve learned something recently. There is a secret to being a good mom and a good wife. It’s simple: be a good friend. 


Have someone on speed dial who will listen as you cry or laugh with you as you relay the latest antics in your home. There is something therapeutic about sharing your struggles with someone who understands simply because she has been there. She knows of the struggle of the very long days and the very short years of mothering. She knows of the struggle to balance work and motherhood. She knows of the pressure of perfection. She knows of the struggle of surrendering control.

Spend time away from the pressures of everyday life with your girlfriends.


Stepping away from the world with real friends will renew your soul. Let go of guilt about leaving. You need time away to laugh so hard your cheeks hurt. You need time away to remember who you were before you grew up and had little people depending on you. You need to cry together and encourage one another and ask hard questions and speak truthful words. You need one another.

When you find the girls who have seen you at your worst and loved you through the dark days, who have laughed with you on your best days and who have celebrated the joyful days alongside you, TREASURE them. Pray for them. Remind them of how deeply they have enriched your world.

Recognize the gift of friendship and don’t ever doubt the importance of the influence these girls have had in your life.

The words I sang as a six-year-old ring ever true, “Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.” 

I spent this past weekend away with some of my greatest treasures. These girls are such blessings. And, yes. That is a giant photo on a stick of Brianna. She couldn’t be there with us and we didn’t want her to miss out on any of the fun. We sent her pictures throughout the weekend of all the fun “she was having” with the hope that silly photos would help ease the sting of sadness from missing this time together.